


Don't Be A Hero

by anonymous_fangirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Cute, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Hopeful Ending, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Emergency, Medical Trauma, Sad, Swan Queen - Freeform, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-26
Updated: 2014-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-27 02:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2675513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymous_fangirl/pseuds/anonymous_fangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma and Regina are caught up in a near fatal bank robbery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set some time before the curse breaks but pretty close to then.

Regina walked into The First Bank of Storybrooke with a truck load of town and personal issues on her mind. She lined up, not taking in her surroundings, checking once again that the right amount was in the envelope she was about to deposit. The mayor had been arguing with her son, and when she dropped him off at school that morning, he wouldn't even say goodbye. She had never loved anything or anyone as much as she loved Henry, so she'd never felt as much anguish at being rejected as by him. Then of course was her other problem.

"Madam Mayor." The blonde feigned a curtsey as she entered Regina's line of sight.

"Sheriff Swan." Regina rolled her eyes. She didn't have the energy to deal with Emma Swan. The unruly, uncouth, unbelievably mouthwatering blonde who was closer to her own son than Regina was.

"Don't you have minions or something to do your banking for you?" Emma took her place in line behind the mayor, resting her hand on her hip.

"And what's your purpose here? Need a place to deposit your two cents?" Regina instinctively brushed her tongue across her plump, red lip as Emma ran her hand through her hair, although the mayor still bore an authoritative weight in the conversation.

"Actually, I've been storing up those pay checks you've been giving me, and I really thought they should go somewhere safer than under my mattress."

"It's so comforting to know the sheriff has such a keen sense of safety."

"I do what I can." Emma winked with a smile and Regina just rolled her eyes and turned to face the person in front of her as the lines moved up by one.

"EVERYBODY DOWN ON THE GROUND!" Regina and Emma immediately turned in synch to the front door where a man in a balaclava was staring with a semi automatic pointed at the line of people. Immediately people started to scream, fall to the ground, cover their faces. Emma reached for her gun. Noticing this, Regina whispered through gritted teeth.

"Emma don't." As soon as Emma's gun was visible, the robber screamed at her.

"PUT THE GUN ON THE FUCKING FLOOR!" Emma stood her ground, pointing the gun at the man at the door, trying to remain calm. Regina grabbed her arm, begging her again in a quiet whisper.

"Emma put it down, don't do this."

"PUT THE GUN ON THE FUCKING FLOOR RIGHT FUCKING NOW OR I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!"

Emma kept her gun pointed at the man, calmly but audibly retorting to Regina. "Regina get down." The mayor cringed as she did what she was told.

"Hey let's just talk about this." Emma began. The robber twitched and ticked, sweating profusely. She hadn't run into many people in a drug induced rage before, but she knew the basics of negotiation. "I'm Sheriff Swan, and I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want any of these nice folks getting hurt either."

"I DON'T CARE WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE, JUST PUT YOUR GUN ON THE FUCKING GROUND AND NOBODY GETS HURT."

"What's your name?"

"PUT THE GUN DOWN!"

"I need you to calm down, okay, I don't want anyone to get hurt." Regina watched the man from down by Emma's feet. His face was getting redder and his shaking was getting worse. She could see how angry he was, and despite Emma's best efforts, he was only getting angrier. "Why don't you put your gun d…"

As Emma's honey like words fell from her mouth, the gunman pulled the trigger, causing Emma to fall backwards, atop Regina. She tried to muffle a scream, although it was pointless, as everyone in the bank was now screaming. She didn't dare move as the gunman ran toward the tellers.

"DON'T ANYBODY TRY ANYTHING OR YOU'LL END UP LIKE YOUR SHERIFF."

When the gunman was taken to the vault, Regina pushed Emma from on top of her, onto the floor. The mayor was already covered in the Sheriff's blood that seemed to be gushing freely from her gut. Emma's eyes fluttered open and closed as Regina leaned over her, pushing her weight onto the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Emma? Emma can you hear me?" Regina tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to draw the gunman's attention. Emma's eyes fluttered open and she fought to keep them that way.

"I like it when you call me Emma." The blonde smiled weakly, her body already in shock from the bullet wound, that despite Regina's best efforts, was still bleeding profusely. Regina let out a tiny chuckle at the sheer absurdity of that line in this situation.

"Can you feel my hands on you Emma?" Regina pushed harder on the wound, Emma's blood spilling over her hands and ruining the cuffs of her woollen coat.

"Maybe if you moved them a little lower." Emma coughed in a laugh as she hit on Regina, blood spraying out of her mouth and dripping down her cheek, staining her blonde locks that fell around her head. Regina quickly pulled off her coat and placed it over Emma, whose fingertips had already started to turn blue. The mayor then wiped the blood from Emma's face and lifted the sheriff's head into her lap so that she didn't choke on her own blood.

"Emma just keep breathing okay? He'll be gone any minute and we can get you to the hospital." Emma smiled again, weaker than before, the blood loss taking its toll so quickly.

"I like the sound of that 'we'." Regina pushed Emma's hair back off her face and gently cradled her head, smiling back down at her.

"You're incorrigible Miss Swan." Emma smiled before her eyes fell closed. "No no, Emma, Emma open your eyes. Keep talking to me Emma." Regina pat the sheriff rather hard on her cheek to keep her awake, when her eyes fluttered open, they seemed devoid of their usual bright green colour and were now murky, like a swamp.

The gunman returned to the room with a canvas bag full of money, once again pointing his gun all around. Regina closed her eyes and prayed for him to leave. It was almost over. That was when she heard the sirens.  _No. No no no. It was almost over._

"WHO CALLED THE FUCKING POLICE?!" The gunman was livid. His tick returning, the shaking getting worse. 

Three police cruisers pulled up outside the bank, 6 officers piling out with rifles and pistols. One of them had a megaphone. 

"Come on out with your hands up." The cop called through the megaphone. The gunman began to panic, pacing back and forth away from the windows. 

Regina watched as Emma's eyes drifted shut again and she shook the blonde's head, whispering. "Stay with me Emma. Keep your eyes open."

The gunman turned around swiftly and screamed at Regina. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" 

Regina braved an answer. "Please, she needs a hospital."

The gunman held his weapon to Regina's temple. "Nobody goes anywhere. HEAR ME? NOBODY LEAVES!" He withdrew his gun and kept pacing as the megaphone sounded again.

"Come out with your hands up, nice and easy." 

"Nice and easy, nice and easy." The gunman repeated to himself over and over as he paced in deep thought. "ALRIGHT." He screamed. "EVERYBODY UP AND STANDING AGAINST THE WINDOWS." Nobody moved, too afraid of the unpredictable, volatile man. "I SAID NOW!" 

The tellers and patrons, reaching about 20 all up, cautiously moved to the windows, where the gunman prompted them to line up next to each other against the glass, like a shield. Regina stayed on the floor cradling Emma, who was fighting hard to keep her eyes open, Regina constantly prodding her to wake her up again. 

The gunman turned to face them, pointing his gun once again at Regina. "Get the fuck up." He spat, gesturing with his pistol.

"I can't. I need to keep pressure on the wound or she'll bleed out." Regina paused. "You don't want to add murder to your charges do you?" 

The gunman was clearly in deep conflict with himself about this, but he did have his human shield pretty well covering all the windows, and murder was a life sentence. He groaned in anger and shouted. "FINE!" He bent over them and grabbed Emma's gun. How had Regina not thought about the gun? 

Emma heaved for breath in her arms, and as Regina looked down, she realised why she hadn't noticed the gun. She propped Emma's head up as much as she could, letting the blood she coughed up spill down her chin and not be breathed back. Emma's eyes began to twitch around as her eyelids fluttered. 

"Emma. Emma come on." Regina shook the sheriff in her arms. Emma was non responsive. "Emma please, talk to me. Sing something, okay. Hey?" Emma still didn't respond. "What are you always singing when you come to see Henry? You have to help me Emma. The awful 70s song, the cheesy one, umm, come on Emma." Emma let out a tiny breath as her eyes gently fluttered closed. Regina was silent, staring at the blonde. The gunman was also silent, waiting impatiently for her next breath, praying for it. 

" _If you see a faded sign at the side of the road that says_   _15 miles to the_ _Love Shack_ …" Emma's tiny, croaky voice sung, and Regina laughed, so unbelievably relieved to hear Emma's voice. 

"This is your last chance to come out peacefully." Called the megaphone. The gunman began to pace again, stopping in front of one of the tellers and grabbing her collar in his ample fist. 

"Is there a back exit to this place?" He spat at her, his ticks jolting his arms and shaking the woman. 

"There's an exit behind the vault, it leads into the alley." The woman tried to be as direct as possible, but she stuttered on a few words as the intimidating man was pointing his gun at her. The gunman turned around to see if it was true, but he couldn't see the vault from there. 

"R… reg…" Emma was struggling to breathe, her lips turning blue and her dull eyes staring at Regina, begging silently for help. "I… I'm so… so cold." Emma shook in Regina's arms, her eyelids becoming heavy again. Regina brushed the sheriff's blonde hair from her face and smiled at her. 

"It's okay Emma. Come on, keep singing to me. I don't know all the words, so you're going to have to get us going." Emma's lips curved in a minuscule smile as she tried to get out the words. 

" _I'm h… headin' d… down the Atlanta highway… l… lookin' for the love g... getaway, headed for the love getaway. I got me a c… car,_ " 

Regina joined her on the last line " _it's as big as a whale_ " and they smiled together as Emma coughed up more blood. 

The gunman paced back and forth, but when the megaphone sounded again, threatening to come in, he took his chances out the back. Everyone inside was silent as they listened to make sure he was gone. They heard the shouting.

_Get down on the ground. Drop your weapon._

And then they heard the gunshots. 6 of them, and everything stopped. The megaphone sounded again from out the front. 

"Does anyone else have a weapon?" 

Emma began to convulse in Regina's arms. 

"WE NEED AN AMBULANCE!" The mayor screamed, tears now streaming down her face. "Emma, come on, don't do this." Regina had never cried in public. She hadn't cried over a person that wasn't related to her or that she was in love with, and yet holding Emma in her arms, she couldn't help the tears. "Swan, talk to me, that's an order." Emma continued to shake, but her eyes fluttered open. Regina stroked her hair as civilians spilled out the doors and 2 paramedics rushed in with a gurney. 

" _So hurry up_ …" Emma breathed deep and strained, " _and b… bring your ju...kebox money_." 

 


	2. Blue Lips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much angst.

One of the paramedics knelt down beside Emma, taking her head from Regina's lap and pushing Regina out of the way to get a closer look at the wound. Emma wasn't conscious any longer, and her bleeding was slow but still definitely present. The paramedic placed his index finger on her neck and waited, looking at his watch. Regina sat there on the floor, covered in Emma's blood, helpless.

"She's gone into hypotension. She's seizing." The paramedic called out, triggering the other paramedic to join him on the ground with a bag of medical supplies. The other paramedic took a stethoscope from the bag and listened to Emma's chest. Even Regina could see it was barely moving, that Emma was hardly breathing.

"We need to do a thoracostomy now. Her left lung isn't inflating."

"We've gotta get her into the ambulance." The two men lifted Emma onto the gurney and wheeled her into the back of the ambulance, out of sight.

Regina bolted to her car, no thoughts in her head other than Emma. Regina had no clue what  _hypotension_ or  _thoracostomy_ were, but neither paramedic acted like it was a sprained ankle. She didn't realise until she was on the road, unable to see in front of her, that she was still crying. Why was she crying for Emma Swan? Of course the sheriff was attractive, and she was certainly good to Henry, but she was a threat, the competition, she stood to take away everything Regina had worked for, her happy ending. So why then, in this moment, did Regina feel like she had no chance at a happy ending without Emma Swan? 

As Regina pulled in behind the ambulance at the Emergency Department, she watched Emma being pulled out. Her shirt and bra had been cut in half down the middle, revealing piles of gauze atop the wound in her upper belly. She had a tube in her mouth connected to a spherical plastic balloon of some sort that the paramedic was squeezing and releasing, and a thick needle stuck into her chest between her ribs. Regina could see from her car that Emma was grey all over, and if it weren't for the assisted rise and fall of her chest, Regina would be sure Emma was dead. A fresh batch of tears made their way down her cheeks at this thought, and she was mad at herself for letting this get to her the way it was. She told herself she was upset because of Henry, he would be devastated if something happened to Emma, and Regina couldn't bear to see her son upset. 

Inside the ED, everyone whirred around Emma. Regina could barely see the blonde, but the red contrasted the blues and greens of scrubs all around her, so Regina knew she was there. She pushed through to get to Emma, grabbing her hand, not caring about everyone else around, just needing to be with her. 

"Excuse me, are you family?" One of the nurses asked, grabbing Regina's shoulder. Regina pushed the woman's hand off her and stood up tall and intimidating. 

"I am the Mayor of this town." She spoke loud enough for everyone around to hear. 

"I'm sorry Madam Mayor, but unless you're family, you can't stay with her." The nurse was insistent, but Regina wasn't about to let her win.

"She doesn't have any family, so unless you want her medical bills to go unpaid, I suggest you leave us be." Regina snapped at the nurse and returned her attention to Emma, not taking in her surroundings at all, completely focussed on the woman before her. She ran her hand through blood stained hair and down her cheek, smeared with bloody fingerprints from the far too brash paramedics.

"Emma, it's Regina, can you hear me Emma?" Regina ran her hand along Emma's face, which was cold and clammy. She ran her fingers down Emma's neck, hoping to feel the reassuring rhythm, but she was left dismayed. "I can't feel her pulse." Regina raised her head to the doctor's around her, squeaking uncharacteristically. A doctor quickly put her hand to Emma's neck, and then to her wrist, and sure enough, as much as she wished she wasn't, Regina was right. 

"She's coding!" The doctor called. "We need a crash cart!" 

Regina was promptly pushed out of the way as a more medical personnel ran towards the gurney, bringing with them a big metal trolley with a defibrillator on top. The doctors pulled away the fabric from Emma's chest, placing a large, medical sticker on one of her breasts. Regina watched in unconscious awe as they administered shocks to Emma with their metallic pads, again and again and again. The paper being spat out of the machine clearly told them there was no heart beat. Regina's nose ran like a faucet as tears streamed down her face. She was chewing her lip bloody, praying to all the gods in all the worlds that Emma would live. That she'd wake up any second singing that terrible song, her eyes back to their bright green, and the goofy smile back on her face. 

As the doctors slowly pulled away, heads hung, Regina realised that her prayers were unanswered. She ran over to Emma, who'd had the tube pulled from her mouth now and was just lying on the gurney, so peaceful, so beautiful. Regina cried out her name, running her thumb back and forth over her blue lips. 

"Don't leave me Emma." Her tears dripping onto Emma's face.  _No. This isn't happening. Emma Swan is not dead._ Regina placed her hands on top of each other and beat down on Emma's chest. If the doctors weren't going to use their machines, then Regina would mimic them with her hands. 

"Ma'am, she's gone." The female doctor who'd administered the defibrillation pulled the nurse away.

"Let her go, she's not hurting her." 

Regina didn't hear them over her own tears and the thrumming in her head. She pushed down over and over with no results, but it didn't stop her. 

"Swan wake up!" Regina screamed as she pushed so hard she thought she might break Emma's ribs. 

A gurgle sounded from Emma's mouth, followed suddenly by a tiny cough. The doctors were as stunned as Regina. 

"We've got life signs! Resus protocol!" The doctor ran to Emma's face, administering CPR with the help of other doctors. The defibrillator machine began spitting out pages again. Emma had a pulse. 


	3. Unreasonable

Regina stayed by Emma's side after she was admitted to the ICU. Her eyes had flickered open a few times, but she didn't really wake. Her skin was slowly turning to a pinker shade of grey, and her lips were now a very pale rose, thanks to the countless quarts of whole blood being delivered to her intravenously. She looked so small and fragile, reminding Regina of Henry. They did look so alike. Regina thought for a moment that was the reason she felt so attached to Emma, because she reminded her of her son, but as she looked upon the blonde, lying on the gurney, covered in blankets and tubes and blood, she knew that wasn't the reason. 

Regina took Emma's hand in hers, running her thumb along the pale life line inside Emma's palm. "You really scared me there Swan." Regina spoke softly to herself more than anyone. "I didn't think…" Even though no one was listening, it was still hard for Regina to put her feelings into words. "I… I thought that I was done Emma. I thought that I had one love in my life and it was taken from me, but…" Regina swallowed hard to hold back her tears. "You got to me Swan, like a virus, turning every cell in my body into your own." She looked up at Emma's peaceful face and caressed her cheek. "I need you Emma."

Regina suddenly felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Of course it had been doing that all day, but she only then remembered Henry. She pulled her phone out, and sure enough, it was his school. 

"Mom? Where are you? School's been out for forty minutes. Miss Blanchard wants to go home."

"I'm so sorry Henry, there was an incident. I'll be there right away. Tell Miss Blanchard I'll only be ten minutes."

He hung up the phone without responding.  _Won't this be a lovely evening._ Regina thought as she returned her phone to her pocket and got up to leave. She placed a gentle kiss on Emma's forehead without thinking, and didn't realise what she had done until she was on her way to Henry's school. 

Regina got out of the car and walked up to the front office where Henry and Miss Blanchard were waiting. When their eyes grew wide and mouths dropped in terror, Regina was completely perplexed. 

"Mayor Mills, what happened?" Mary Margaret practically squealed. Regina looked down, examining herself, realising her dress and coat were covered in Emma's blood. Her face turned bright red at the thought of having spent her day by Emma's side. 

"There was a shooting at the bank." Regina tucked her hair behind her ear and avoided eye contact. 

"Mom, are you okay?!" Henry worried.

"Oh, I wan't shot, but…" She considered for a moment, Emma wasn't out of the woods yet, and she didn't want him to see her like that, not if that could be his last memory of her. "Someone was. They're at the hospital now."

"Are they alright?" Henry asked, concerned. 

"I think so. I hope so." Regina pet her son's back and led him to her car. "I'm sorry you had to wait with him Miss Blanchard."

"Oh no, it's no worry. I'm just glad everything's okay." Her sweetness was sickening, but Regina gave an appreciative nod before getting in her car and driving home. 

***

Emma woke around midnight, disoriented and in pain. "Regina?" She called in a tiny, piercing voice. Her throat burned from where she had been interbated, but she squeaked out again to a phantom in the dark. "Regina? Regina?" She began to panic, completely unsure where she was or what was going on, the last thing she remembered was Regina's voice, Regina's touch, Regina's smile. A doctor ran into the room to investigate the rapid bleeping of the ECG machine. 

"Emma, you need to calm down now okay? Your heart is very sensitive right now, and your panicking is only going to hurt it." The doctor was kind, but Emma was still desperate for the mayor, the only person she felt could comfort her. 

"Where's Regina?" She croaked in a whisper.

"The mayor? I would imagine she's at home in bed." 

"I need her." Emma began to cry. "Can you please tell her that I need her? Please?" Emma's heart rate skyrocketed as her whimpers turned to sobs. 

The doctor left the room, returning quickly with a syringe filled with clear liquid that she pushed straight into Emma's IV, sending her rapidly into a deep sleep.

***

Regina returned to the ICU first thing after dropping Henry at school. Storybrooke would function without its mayor for a few days, but Regina couldn't function without being at Emma's side. 

"We had to sedate her." A nurse told Regina as she entered Emma's room. 

"You had to  _sedate her_? She wasn't exhausted enough? Did any doctors here even go to medical school?" Regina was particularly on her bitch game that morning, considering she got no sleep last night, worried about Emma, trying to process her feelings. 

"She was getting rather agitated in the night, the doctor thought it best." The nurse wrung her hands together, slightly afraid of the mayor and her power. 

"Agitated?" Regina snarled.

"She was making unreasonable demands, asking us to call you in the middle of the night. Her heart rate was getting out of control." The nurse's words grew quieter as she spoke, watching Regina's face contort in anger. 

"This woman died yesterday. Died. As in was not alive. For 3 whole minutes. If she wakes up and wants to go to Disneyworld, you tell her yes, do you understand?" The nurse simply nodded, chewing her lips. "You have my number. If I'm not here and she wakes up, you call me, regardless of the time. And if I find out you haven't followed these instructions, I will personally see to it that you are fired. Are we clear?" 

"Yes Madam Mayor." The nurse buzzed in fear. 

"That's all." Regina waved the nurse away as she turned back to Emma, who was lying in her bed awake. An unfathomable smile engulfed Regina's whole being as she saw Emma smirking at her.

"I don't know if I should be touched or frightened." Emma offered jovially. Regina sat down beside her, instinctively grabbing her hand. 

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I died." Emma laughed, but stopped quickly in reaction to the pain in her chest and her gut at the muscles being pulled. 

"They tell me you were being unreasonable." Regina smiled as she caressed the back of Emma's hand with her thumb.

"So I heard. I guess they should just let me go then."

"Oh yes? And how far do you think you would get with a collapsed lung and a bullet hole in your abdomen?" 

"Well you can help smuggle me out then. Steal a wheelchair."

"I think it would be better if you stayed put for the moment. But don't let them off easy."

"I'm gonna ask them for 3 different flavours of Jello." 

"My my, you do have big dreams Miss Swan." Emma smiled, causing Regina to smile back at her. She was so happy to see Emma alive and talking, she couldn't control the tears that began to well in her eyes.

"You know I never had jello until I was 18, when I was in hospital having Henry. I never had it as a kid." Regina nearly found herself telling Emma that when she was growing up, jello hadn't been invented, but she quickly stopped herself. 

"Well then by all means, badger these nurses for all the jello you can consume." 

Emma squeezed Regina's hand. "Thank you for what you did for me yesterday."

"I didn't have much of a choice Swan, you fell right on top of me." Regina swallowed hard, trying to pretend like she wasn't more grateful than anything to have Emma holding her hand. 

"Well I appreciate you singing with me, or listening to my singing, encouraging me to sing. I don't really remember, but I know there was singing. And I think flirting." Emma blushed, but Regina just squeezed her hand back.

"You were flirting dear, but I'll put it down to blood loss." There was a pause between them, but it wasn't awkward, or sad, it just was, and they breathed comfortably there with each other for a silent moment. 

"You know, I heard you." Emma offered, now more reserved that before.

"You what?" Regina felt the tears returning.

"I heard you calling me. Asking me to stay with you." Emma laughed as she delivered her next line. "Ordering me to live."

Regina couldn't hold her tears back now, they cascaded down her cheeks of their own accord. "I'm glad you heard me."

"I'm glad I did too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments and kudos are fuelling this story. You are all amazing, thank you so much for reading. I'm just overwhelmed by your enjoyment, it's just making me so so happy :D


	4. True Love

Henry thudded onto the front seat of his mother's car without a word. Still convinced that she was evil, still convinced that she was ruining the lives of everyone around her, he didn't have much desire to talk.

"Henry?" Regina spoke as she drove. Henry only grunted in recognition. "Do you remember how I told you about the shooting yesterday? Well it was Emma who was hurt."

Henry immediately became animated at this, like he had just woken up. Worry coursed through him as he clutched his backpack to his chest.

"Is she okay?"

"She's doing very well, I'm taking you to see her now."

"I thought she was mad at me." Henry mumbled.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"No you're not." Henry whispered so quietly that Regina didn't hear him and kept on towards the hospital.

***

"Mayor Mills, back again?" The young nurse greeted Regina and Henry with a nervous smile. Henry looked up at his mother who didn't say anything to the nurse as they walked past the nurses station and into Emma's room.

"Emma!" Henry ran to the blonde who was slightly propped up in bed, throwing his arms around her, illiciting a strong _Humph_ from a very sore Emma,

"Hey kid. How was school?" Emma smiled so wide to see Henry, who lit up in her presence. Regina watched, heartbroken, but happy for them. 

"Are you okay? What happened? Does it hurt? Can I see it?" Henry propped himself up on Emma's bed, ignoring his mother who was till standing in the doorway. 

"Hasn't your mom told you the story?" Emma tried to pull herself up a little more in the bed, but the pain was too much. Henry seemed oblivious in his contempt at the question. 

"Nah. Mom hasn't told me anything. She only told me just before we got here that you were shot."

"Well, we were in the bank, and this guy came in with a gun, and I tried to calm him down, but he shot me." Emma caressed Henry's face as his eyes blew open in horror. "And then your Mom went into full badass mode and and totally saved my life. She kept saving me, even though all my blood ruined her clothes." 

"Really?" Henry was shocked, but still didn't look at Regina, who was smiling at Emma's story.

"Yeah kid, she was amazing. She even sang. In the middle of the bank, she sang to keep me awake." Henry laughed, finally turning to glance back at his mother. "They told me she was the one who resuscitated me when my heart gave out." Emma and Henry both looked up at Regina now. Both sets of eyes full of awe, full of love. Regina was overwhelmed.

"Wow Mom! Way to go." Henry cheered, signalling for her to join them on the bed, as though there were plenty of room. 

Regina made her way over to the bed to sit down, not taking the chance to miss an opportunity where her son could stand to be around her. She pet Henry's back as she smiled at Emma. "Emma was very strong Henry. I think it's going to take a lot more than a bullet to keep her down."

"Well yeah, she's the saviour."

***

Henry had fallen asleep in the chair by Emma's bed. It was only 9:00pm, but there was only so much for a child to do in a hospital, and Regina refused to have a wheelchair race with him. 

Regina sat on Emma's bed, holding her hand (a practice which had quickly become the norm between them) and telling her stories about Henry's childhood. Emma loved to hear all about Henry's first words, his first day of school, the time he thought he was a superhero and broke his arm jumping off the playground. And Regina loved to make Emma smile. Neither woman addressed what was going on between them, they were just happy to let it be. 

"I should get Henry home." Regina let go of Emma's hand and stood up. Emma instinctively bit her lip at the sudden loss of contact.

"Thanks for bringing him in. It was good to see him." Emma smiled, although she was so disappointed that Regina was leaving. 

Regina lightly shook Henry awake, and after hugging Emma goodbye, he raced down to the vending machines with Regina's purse, leaving the women alone again. 

Regina bent over Emma, brushing her hair off her face, that was now fully coloured to it's natural blush. Emma's eyes sparkled as they filled with drug induced tears. 

"I'm sorry." Emma sobbed.

"It's okay dear. It's hard to be alone when you're in pain, but I'll be back in the morning." Regina smiled, as she knelt down to kiss Emma's forehead, but was pulled by the blonde to her lips. Regina was shocked at first, but Emma's lips were so perfectly soft, she felt herself melt into them, oblivious to the waves of rainbow light flowing from them, nor the panic that began to erupt outside the ward as everyone remembered who they were. No, in that moment, it was just the two of them, and everything was perfect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANKS FOR READING!!!


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